The National Unity Platform (NUP) president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, has accused President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of deliberately fueling tribal divisions between the people of Buganda and Lango. While addressing several rallies during his five-day tour of the Lango sub-region, Bobi Wine claimed that President Museveni’s divisive politics date back to the 1980 general elections. Speaking at Akii-Bua Stadium in Lira City, Bobi said the rift between the two regions was rooted in the political events of that period.
He explained that when former President Milton Obote returned to power in 1980 (Obote II), the country remained deeply divided, as many people were alienated by the liberation politics, and the results of the elections were violently contested. According to Bobi, some politicians who lost the elections took up arms to regain power, while others who had been ousted engaged in guerrilla warfare that led to widespread death and suffering.
“In that election, there were four political parties competing, and Museveni got 1% of the vote in 1980. But do you know what Museveni said? Museveni said that Obote had stolen his election and that Obote was overstaying in power, so Museveni started a war.”
Bobi Wine said this account was corroborated by Gen. Kahinda Otafiire during a December 25, 2004 speech at the burial of Adonia Kibirundwa, a Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) stalwart.
He further alleged that after the National Resistance Army (NRA) took power in 1986, the regime used the media to propagate hate and deepen divisions among Ugandans. “That is how they were able to brainwash my people. So after they took power in 1986, all the radios, all the TVs, all the stories that were being manufactured — they were teaching us hate and harsh division. And I am sure even in northern Uganda, the same story.” Bobi Wine called on the people of Buganda and Lango to bury the past and unite for a better future envisioned by Uganda’s forefathers.
He added, “We are the grandchildren of the Obote generation. We are the grandchildren of the Ben Kiwanuka generation. We are the grandchildren of the young men and women of 1962, and we are the grandparents of the future generation — whether we are from Lango, Buganda, or any other part of Uganda.” The two-time presidential candidate challenged President Museveni to respond to his claims with facts. “I want Museveni to come out and say Bobi Wine is lying. I want Museveni to come and say he is not the one who killed almost 1 billion people in Uganda. But I know Museveni cannot challenge me because Museveni knows he is a criminal.” He went on to accuse the regime of impoverishing the people of northern Uganda. “It is painful to say that the most educated people in Lango are now the old people. The most segregated people are from northern Uganda. It’s been 40 years of humiliation, 40 years of poverty, 40 years of destruction of everything that the old president left for us.” Bobi Wine concluded by urging Ugandans to embrace reconciliation and unity. “We can reconcile, we can forgive past mistakes, we can move forward together, and we can be the fulfillment of the dreams of our fathers and mothers.”
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